Germany's paper markets are staging a gradual recovery. The coming months are usually strong for corrugated case material but at the beginning of September, the extent of the announced hikes was still unclear.
In the last two weeks of August, talks about the planned 1 September price hike for recycled corrugated case material gained drive but some market participants nevertheless described the pace as rather slow. In Germany, negotiations have not yet been finalised but the increase is likely to be smaller than originally planned.
The majority of companies were already more or less convinced back in August that it would not be possible to achieve an upward correction of the full planned amount. Especially since recovered paper prices do not provide the necessary support, as a market participant puts it.
Output of paper mills was recently on a high level, and at the same time, sales volumes exceeded output. Inventories therefore tend to be low which provides a good basis for papermakers to negotiate prices, they say. However, the current market situation is not quite clear – especially for converters – given that demand for corrugated board is good but not overly so and some mills are running fewer shifts.
In addition, there is contains a certain amount of corrugated case material from in weaker markets for sale on the German domestic market. On the other hand, paper manufacturers report improved demand for corrugated case material from other European markets, even from regions which are currently more affected by the euro crisis.
⇒ This article is an excerpt from EUWID's monthly report on the German paper market. The EUWID Price Watch Germany for September will be published in EUWID Pulp and Paper no. 40 on 4 October.
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